snacking healthy

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for anything salty. Put a bag of chips in front of me and you can expect the contents to be gone in 10 minutes. However, from a very young age I learned to love vegetables. Sure, they might not be as tasty as a handful (or two...or three) of Doritos, but I genuinely enjoy them.
And lately, I've been enjoying a few slices of cucumber in ice water. It jazzes up the taste of it if you aren't a fan of water's nothingness (I don't mind water, but cucumbers make it even more refreshing). A few benefits of cucumbers are...

001. They fight cancer

002. They are a remedy for sunburn

003. They are hydrating (cucumbers are 90% water!) and

004. They are energy boosters

What's your favorite healthy snack?
xo,
hannah

ten things

 

Ten things that make me happy:

001. Water with lemon

002. New creamy pink nail polish

003. Sweet apple perfume

004. Homemade pizza

005. Delicate pops of purple flowers waving in the summer breeze

006. Exciting secret plans I'm making and working on and will be sharing with you soon ;)

007. Doing playdoh with my adorable cousins

008. Feeling so much healthier from drinking about 5 glasses of water :)

009. White shorts

010. Walking barefoot in the rain

What makes you happy?
-hannah

how to get starbucks minus the "bucks" || a (delicious) recipe

I while back I posted a recipe for caramel frappuccinos, and since then I've adjusted and changed it to be the best it could be. Let me just say, I could live off this thing. So, without further ado, I will share the #1 recipe for Starbucks Frappuccinos:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1/2 cup of milk
7-12 ice cubes
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of caramel or chocolate syrup

Step 1: Pour all of the ingredients into your blender

Step 2: Blend....
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.....Enjoy!

This drink will satisfy your taste buds, your body temperature (it gives you a brain freeze if you drink it too fast.... trust me, I know!), and your stomach. It's so delicious!

Have you found any other recipes for this (or any other Starbucks drink)? I'd LOVE to hear them!

-hannah

house to myself || baking

"Have a good game" I waved to my little brother as he scooted out the door, with his baseball bag slung across his shoulder.

I stood in the kitchen for a moment, relishing in the complete and total silence. The air conditioning coming from the vents on the floor brushed my feet, sending a slight tingling sensation up my legs. What to do when I have the house to myself? Read? Blog? Watch t.v? No, none of those were quite right. I looked around the kitchen.

A dusky room like this needed life, attention. Sure, it got plenty throughout the day, but I'm sure it missed the one and only Hannah whipping up something delicious in it quarters. It's been a while.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

//Ingredients//

1 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups of white sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp of vanilla extract

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 tsp of baking soda

2 tsp of hot water

1/2 tsp of salt

2 cups of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time and add vanilla. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water and stir that in the mix. Add salt and gradually beat in flour. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop onto un-greased cookie sheets with a tablespoon.

3. Bake for 14-17 minutes (yes, that long) for a nice crispy cookie (not burnt though!)

4. Pour yourself a tall glass of milk and enjoy!

-hannah

p.s. please vote on the sidebar poll, and don't forget to check out my blog design sale!

life as of late No. 2

what? no, I wasn't standing on the table to get these photos. Psh, what are you talking about?

this has been my makeup look for the past week. I'm seriously in love, and it only takes about five minutes! (you know I love a makeup look when I where it over three days in a row ;])
maybelline color tattoo in bad to the bronze // Profusion palette: champagne color // wet n wild liquid liner in black // covergirl professional all-in-one mascara

my dad seriously makes the best pancakes ever. Why he doesn't open a diner I'll never know...

It's been rainier around here lately, but I don't really mind, it makes for nice photos :) Oh, and I would like to announce....

My new and improved design business!
I've been working on it for a while, and I'm so excited for it to actually be up now! So if you're ever in need of a blog design for an affordable price, swing by and check it out :)

-hannah

phone calls, family, friends, and food.

After five days in the hospital, my grandad passed away. It happened last night around nine, and of course my mom and dad had to go right to the hospital. It was peaceful though, and he was with three of my uncles. It was the best way to go for him, surrounded by his family.
Around midnight my parents came home and I went to bed, just thinking about him and wishing I got to talk to him properly before he died. But today was way better. The phone has been ringing off the hook and friend and relatives have been popping in for visits.
And the food train has started. This morning I awoke, took a shower and headed downstairs to find this on the table:

Needless to say it was a satisfying breakfast.

Like I said, the mood this morning is much better. When something tragic happens in the family, I'm more of a "mourn and move-on" kind of person. Sure, it's sad, but I know he's in a better place. And I'm gonna try to be strong for my siblings too.

Art really has been a life-saver for me. My camera hasn't left my presence this whole morning. I'm snapping my sadness away ;)

I decided to do a makeup look that reminded me of my grandad. Check out the tutorial here :)

Have a nice Friday!
-hannah
Don't forget to enter this giveaway!

saturday (and GIVEAWAY WINNER!!)

The winner of the Sand and Starfish giveaway is...

Natalie Ensor!
Congratulations! Please email me within the next 48 hours to claim your prize :)

So far, my somewhat lazy Saturday has consisted of...

1. Luxuriously sleeping in and then browsing blogs on my iPod

2. Chowing down on coffee cake

3. Going to my Grandma's house and shoveling her steps because it snowed an inch last night

4. Wrestling with a bucket of salt (don't ask...)

5. Enjoying an amazing taco and...

6. Stuffing myself with more coffee cake ;)

And now I'm sitting on the couch, wanting to go outside and take some photos of the winter wonderland that is my neighborhood. Oh yeah, and wanting to waste my money on-yep, you guessed it- more makeup ;)
Oh, and I got my first paying blog design last week! Pretty dang exciting :) Check out the blog HERE! Would you like a blog design? Check out my design site :)

-hannah
p.s. this is my 400th post! Yea!

i enjoy this

nothing beats a homemade frappuccino.... okay, maybe a starbucks frappuccino does, but whatevs ;)

What's your favorite homemade drink? I'd love to hear it!

-hannah
p.s. something extremely important happened to me the other day; I posted about it >>>HERE<<<

care to dine?

About a week ago we went to a Japanese restaurant, the kind that actually cooks the food right in front of you. Needless to say is was awesome. The chef we had was really nice and talked to us the whole time he was chopping and slicing and frying and whatever else he was doing at lightening-fast speed...

You better believe I brought my camera

that shrimp was so good, and I don't even like shrimp ;)

Everything was amazing.  I was extremely satisfied.
Where do you like to go when your family goes out for dinner? Somewhere like this?

-hannah